The Renault Duster turbo-petrol has been launched, with prices ranging from Rs 10.49 lakh to Rs 13.59 lakh (ex-showroom, India). The turbocharged iteration of the midsize SUV is available in three trim levels with a manual gearbox and two variants with an automatic transmission. As before, the Duster continues to be offered with a naturally aspirated petrol mill, though prices have been hiked by Rs 10,000 for the entry level RxE and mid-spec RxS variants.
- Gets a new 156hp, 1.3-litre turbo-petrol engine
- CVT auto gearbox available only in the top two trim levels of the turbo-petrol engine
- Top-spec RxZ trim gets auto climate control and 17-inch alloys
Given below are the variant-wise prices for the Renault Duster.
What’s powering the Renault Duster?
The Renault Duster is powered by a new 1.3-litre, turbocharged petrol engine with direct-injection, which produces 156hp and 254Nm of torque. Gearbox options for the Duster turbo-petrol include a 6-speed manual and a 7-step CVT automatic.
Additionally, the 106hp, 1.5-litre, naturally aspirated petrol engine continues to be on offer along with this new turbo-petrol engine. The 1.5-litre unit is available with a sole 5-speed manual transmission.
The move to BS6 norms earlier this year had seen Renault pull the plug on the Duster’s popular 1.5-litre K9K diesel engine. The switch to petrol-only powertrain also saw the capable all-wheel drive (AWD) version of the SUV being dropped from the line-up.
Are there any changes on the exterior or interior?
The Renault Duster turbo-petrol looks near-identical to the standard Duster, save for the ‘Turbo’ badging. There are no design changes inside the cabin either.
However, the top-spec Renault Duster RXZ gets more features, like a fuel-saving engine stop-start system, cabin pre-cooling via remote, hill-start assist, an 8.0-inch touchscreen, and 17-inch alloy wheels.
What community is saying on the Duster?
How does the Renault Duster turbo-petrol stack up against rivals in terms of price?
Renault has priced the 1.3-litre, turbo-petrol engine option at a premium of almost Rs 2 lakh over the naturally-aspirated 1.5-litre unit of the Duster. The CVT auto variants are further positioned Rs 1.6 lakh higher than their equivalent manual counterparts.
Still, the Duster is the most affordable turbo-petrol midsize SUV of the lot. The Nissan Kicks turbo, which shares its running gear with the Renault, has a Rs 1.36 lakh higher starting price (at Rs 11.85 lakh), especially considering the forced-induction iteration of the Nissan misses out on the entry-level trim.
At Rs 15.54 lakh, the Kia Seltos 1.4-litre turbo-GDI, in comparison, starts almost Rs 5 lakh higher than the Duster turbo-petrol, while the Hyundai Creta turbo is positioned further upwards at Rs 16.16 lakh, since it comes solely allied to a DCT automatic transmission. The Korean brothers, however, pack in a lot more equipment than their European rival.
*Prices, ex-showroom, India
^Prices, ex-showroom, Delhi
Dipan Sur
Viraaj Bhatnagar
Suraj Viswanathan
